Re: The Crowd
Remus stood in the centre of the courtyard to answer Regulus' attack on the proceedings. The spells around the combat area would have dissolved when Harry yielded. But, Remus didn't trust his own reactions in that moment to move any closer.
"Absolutely correct," he acknowledged. "And if the point of the demonstration was to kill each other or illustrate ways to kill, we would have failed utterly." Of course, Moody's directives to all the training staff had been 'maximum force necessary', not 'shoot to kill'. But that was a moral argument not needed just then.
"A real fight would have been over in a matter of seconds and there wouldn't have been anything to learn," he continued, addressing the crowd rather than Regulus directly. He wasn't going to make this a personal thing. It was more important everyone, not just Regulus understand what he and Harry were doing. "But, that wasn't what this is or what you were intended to see.
"Many of you have been taught already to subdue only, that a subdued enemy is no longer a threat. Take away a wand and make a wizard 'tame'. The problem with that thinking is a tendency to apply it to yourself as well -- If I'm disarmed or brought down, I've lost.
"We teach you spells and drills and you learn them by rote. But, you're not going to get a set pattern of spells to block. You opponents are not going to follow-up in the same way. And, while we'd all like to be perfect, sometimes you miss. Conditions are not optimal, or you are fighting someone who is more powerful, more skilled, and more ruthless. But even the best fighter can be overwhelmed physically and magically.
"Let's be honest. Yes, may mean you have to kill. But, really, everyone here knows a spell that can kill. It doesn't have to even be a spell designed to cause harm. With the right conditions any spell can be lethal. Anything at all can become a weapon.
"And that was the point of all this. Not to show you how to kill. You all know how, even if you think you don't. The methods don't have to be anything special and you don't need a secret arsenal to do it.
"What you don't know is how to use that knowledge, how to think in the moment, how to read an opponent." He turned back to look at Regulus again. "Because, Regulus is right. You won't get that chance out there. So, we have to use the chance in here, take the time in here. Start thinking about it now, so that when you're out there you don't have to think about about it and question. You just do it."
Remus knew what Regulus had been expecting this to be. But, that wasn't what Remus had intended as soon as he began to consider the multitude of lessons that could be taught.